The food chain in the forest - this is what it looks like

You can see a lot of interesting things in the forest. Walk through the forest with your eyes open. Gnawed cones show you that a squirrel lives here. You can hear the woodpecker somewhere and the tracks of the wild boar burrowing in the ground cannot be overlooked. Huge trees give you shade and provide the food for many animals.

Animals and plants in the forest

• The most important component in the forest are the trees, because a forest only becomes a forest out of many trees. Almost every forest in Germany is a cultivated forest strongly influenced by humans. There are hardly any primeval forests left here.
• The type of trees determines the character of the forest. Tall fir trees are typical of the Black Forest. Pine forests grow on the northern sandy soils in Germany. Beech forests are valuable and mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees offer ideal living conditions for numerous living beings.
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• Many other living things play a role. Ferns, grasses and mosses grow in the shade. A wide variety of mammals such as mice, squirrels, martens, fox, badger, roe deer, deer and wild boar are common. There is also a great diversity of species among birds. The number of insects and spiders is hard to keep track of. Ants probably live everywhere. They are links in a forest food chain.
• Because all of these living things need food. Plants need water, sun and nutrients from the soil to grow. Animals either eat plants or other animals. Some animals eat animals and are eaten by others themselves. When the animals and plants die, they feed an infinite number of soil organisms, which through their work make them fertile again for plants. This creates a food chain in which every link is part of a cycle.


The forest ecosystem and its biology

Plants, animals and the environment are closely related to and with one another. That …

A food chain consists of producers, consumers and destructors

• The organisms involved in a food chain can be divided into three categories. It's the producers, the consumers and the destructors.
• You include all plants among the producers. With the help of the sun, they produce organic substances from inorganic substances. This is called photosynthesis. Plants use minerals in the soil, carbon, water and sun to produce the carbohydrates that are so important for other living beings. The producers are at the beginning of the food chain.
• Consumers are different animals. Some eat plants, they are the so-called primary consumers, others are carnivores. These form the group of secondary consumers. Some animals feed on plants and animals. This creates complicated food chains.
• Destructors are microorganisms and bacteria in the soil that decompose dead plant and animal material. The resulting waste products enrich the soil again as nutrients.

Typical food chains in the forest

• When you walk through a forest, you will come across the links of different food chains everywhere. The seeds of the trees are an important food for many birds. The squirrel is also happy about the nuts of the hazel bush.
• Squirrels and small songbirds are popular prey for the pine marten. This is in turn eaten by the eagle owl at the end of the food chain.
• In addition to vegetable seeds, birds also like to feed on insects. The insects, for example the caterpillars of the butterflies, eat their way through the leaves of various plants.
• When the plants die or the leaves of the trees fall to the ground in autumn, they are broken down by soil organisms. The forest fertilizes itself.
• Take the cycle of the forest as an example. Every being has its place here. Nature regulates coexistence in such a way that a balance is established. When walking through a forest, do not wantonly destroy plants growing there. Rubbish has no place in the forest either. It upsets the balance through pollutants. If you disrupt even one link in the food chain, it has repercussions for many others.